Valencia, Spain: The MotoGP is going to be decided in what promises to be a thrilling and controversial race at the Cheste Circuit here on Sunday.
Around 110,000 fans will see Valentino Rossi and Jorge Lorenzo joust it out for the title in a race when reigning world champion Mark Marquez will also be very much in the spotlight.
Rossi holds a seven-point lead over his Yamaha teammate Lorenzo in the riders' championship but will start Sunday's race last on the grid following the incident in Malaysia a fortnight ago, where he appeared to kick Marquez off his bike, irritated at the Spaniard's delaying tactics, which he clearly interpreted as designed to help his title rival Lorenzo.
Lorenzo is optimistic over his ability to cut Rossi's seven-point lead, which means he has to finish at least two places ahead of the Italian.
"I would not change my position for Valentino's," he said to the press.
"I will have to see what happens to Valentino, but I know that whatever happens I have to ensure I finish two places ahead of him, while if I finish third, Valentino would have to finish sixth."
Rossi meanwhile attempted to put the controversy which has been brewing over the past fortnight behind him.
"I will have to be faster than ever. Everything will depend on how fast I go, Valencia is not a great circuit to recover places, especially on the straights, so I will have to look for other areas, such as in breaking, to be in a good position," he said.
With a partisan home crowd likely to support Lorenzo and Marquez, Sunday promises drama right to the end.
